Pages

Friday, January 11, 2013

Going Gluten Free on Medifast

As you probably know, I spent some time this fall eating gluten free after a month of Primal eating this summer. I think it's beneficial for me, but I didn't lose weight doing it, so I went back to Medifast. My plan has been to stick with Medifast to get the rest of the weight off (since it works) and then transition to Primal/Paleo eating for maintenance. I like eating gluten free; I think it cuts my cravings and the inflammation that bothers my joints. But some of the meals on Medifast do contain gluten. I thought most of them did. But I recently found out that they offer a Gluten free variety pack option and have a lot of meal options.

I've been looking more closely lately at the ingredients in my Medifast meals. I put together a list of Medifast meals that are certified gluten free:

Also, all 10 flavors of Crunch Bars are wheat free, but not certified gluten free.

Anyway, most of what I eat is on this list. I'd say 80% of the time I have totally gluten free days. But every so often I have other Medifast meals like oatmeal, chili, or chicken noodle soup. And then there is the new Macaroni and Cheese Medifast meal... which is obviously not gluten free (they are real noodles, and the first ingredient is wheat), but it doesn't trip any switches for me so I have had it twice now. Here it is, by the way:

Kind of orangey, eh? It's natural color, at least, and seems pretty straightforward. Mainly noodles, dried cheddar cheese, dry buttermilk, and whey to boost the protein content. It's kind of like Easy Mac, where you add water and nuke it. This serving is less than half a cup prepared but it does seem to last me a good 2-3 hours. It has 110 calories, 1.5 g fat, 15 g carbs, 4 g fiber, and 11 g protein. By comparison, an Easy Mac cup has 230 calories, 4g fat, 42 g carbs, and 7 g protein.

But enough about mac and cheese on a post about gluten free meals! Anyway, my point is that although I didn't intend to go 100% gluten free before maintenance/Primal, I am choosing to eat Medifast meals that *are* gluten free more often. I will eat the ones I have on hand that aren't gluten free, but I don't think I will order more.

By the way, I'm also trying to eat less soy, so that narrows my available meals down further. I am choosing the soy-free and lower soy meals that also happen to be gluten free. I'm also aiming to make most of my Lean & Green meals suitable for Primal eating so that I can use the same recipes in maintenance.

And now I am heading to the kitchen to cook some green beans to go with that yummy meatloaf that's in the oven! After dinner, I'll have a hot cup of ginger tea and an Epsom Salt bath soak! Have a great weekend!

Required Disclosure: I receive free product in order to evaluate and comment on my experiences on the Medifast Program. Medifast products and the Medifast Program are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any medical improvements noted while on the program are related to weight loss in general, and not to Medifast products or programs.

10 comments:

I switched over to gluten free on medifast once I figured out that wheat was a trigger.

It helped a lot to use Medifast as a time of " mind clarity" to read about both maintenance then closer to goal, about paleo/primal. The planning while I was not having slippery slope thinking was the key to starting off maintenance in a very structured sort of way.

Good luck and make the most of your time in the loss phase. Stay 100% OP for the clarity. Lots of time to learn , plan, heal. Karen P

"It's kind of like Easy Mac, where you add water and nuke it. This serving is less than half a cup prepared but it does seem to last me a good 2-3 hours. It has 110 calories, 1.5 g fat, 15 g carbs, 4 g fiber, and 11 g protein. By comparison, an Easy Mac cup has 230 calories, 4g fat, 42 g carbs, and 7 g protein."

correct; if an Easy Mac container has twice as much volume in it, then the major difference would be that the same amount of Medifast macaroni and cheese contains 12 g fewer carbs, 6 g more fiber, and 8 g more protein.

However, since I don't know anyone who will make an EasyMac and only eat half at a time, I am comparing nutrition for one serving.

I tried wheat (totally) free, and the first 10 days were amazingly great. Then I got miserably sick, thought I was getting an ulcer. I went off it. I think probably it might have been some hidden wheat I missed, but it was so miserable I haven't been willing to try it since. But I am very low carb, like Phase 1.5 in South Beach.

If you really want your eyes opened to the dangers of modern day wheat, read Wheat Belly.

Lyn, my son (who is 4) was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance about a year and a half ago. In that time I've learned A TON about gluten, wheat (and all the other grains that have gluten), the difference between something that "contains gluten", "was processed in a facility", or "certified gluten free". If you have any questions, just send me a message. I'm more than happy to help sort out the confusing parts. It can get very complicated!

Subscribe by Email

Who IS this person?

I am 38 years old, female, a degree-holding stay-at-home-mom, and I weigh 278 pounds. I have been obese for ten years now. Time to get out of this fat prison I have made for myself.
--This is the original introduction I wrote when I first started this blog in 2007. I leave it as a reminder to myself of where I came from. Currently, I am 46 years old and weigh significantly less...see the blog for details. I lost 103 pounds, then had a partial regain, and am once again working at weight loss and better health.

Contact Me

Escape from Obesity by Lyn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
All material contained in this blog, including written posts and photographs, is protected by U.S. copyright law. If you would like to reproduce a post or part of a post online, you may do so on a non-commercial site as long as you attribute the material to myself, "Lyn of Escape from Obesity," and include a link to my blog. Any commercial use of these materials is prohibited. If you have questions, please contact me via email.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Which basically means, if you shop through my amazon links, I earn a small commission. Thanks!